Silver Lining
by Infamoux
Summary: Tala/Kai Every cloud has a silver lining, but Kai’s life is all cloud and no lining. Will meeting a certain redhead help? AU. Yaoi. One-shot.


**Silver Lining**

**Summary: **[Tala/Kai] Every cloud has a silver lining, but Kai's life is all cloud and no lining. Will meeting a certain redhead help? AU. Yaoi. One-shot.

**Pairing: **?/Kai

**Side-Pairing(s): **None.

**Warnings: **A couple of swearwords, PMS-ing Kai, YAOI.

**Disclaimer: Own Beyblade? Me? Yeah right.**

**Haiiii people. ^^ It is I, the great and illustrious, divine crackpot, Infa. =3**

**I'm back with another fic. (Yay me! xD;)**

**This time it's Tala/Kai. Yes, **_**the**_** Tala/Kai fic that I promised. =3 (There's another one coming soon. Wheee. x3)**

**Thank you everyone who read, reviewed, and favorite my previous work! ^^**

**And, duh, this is YAOI. Whai. Ay. Oh. Aiee. YAOI. Don't like it, don't read it. =3 **

**Anyway, I'll shut up now. =3**

**Read and Review! **

**~*~*~*~**

'_Every cloud has a silver lining.'_ He snorted at the thought. _'Whoever said that obviously never knew reality.'_

Walking down the bustling Moscow road with his glove-clad hands shoved deep into the warm pockets of his black leather jacket, he pondered over the meaning of the old proverb.

People of different ages, genders, statuses and even ethnicities moved around him, pushed along by the cold Russian wind that beat relentlessly against their backs, howling around corners, whistling under doors and into warm havens to frost people's breath and make them scoot just a little bit closer to the blazing fireplaces or bury themselves under an extra layer of blankets.

But most people, smothered in quadruple layers of clothing, still had to brave the weather and try to go about their daily businesses. The snow had stopped after weeks of steady white powder, and people were making the most of this break by carrying out the errands and chores that had been put off by the extreme cold.

The cold breath of Winter swirled around him, biting at his pale cheeks—currently flushed because of the cold—and making him bury his head deeper into the upturned collar of his black leather jacket so that only his crimson-violet eyes were visible along with the few strands of his dual-colored hair that peeked out from under a navy ski-cap, the cold wind batting strands of his slate bangs around his exotically unusual eyes.

The proverb didn't seem to fit into his life. His father had been a business executive turned abusive drinker. When his parents had married, his father had been one of the most successful young men in the U.S.S.R.; co-owner of the Hiwatari Corp., which was a world renown organization; married to Alexandria Obolov, a direct descendant of Russia's imperial family; and the sole heir to the vast Hiwatari fortune.

The first few years of their marriage had been happy; their happiness increased even more when their first child was born. They named him Kai Alexander Hiwatari, Alexander after his mother's great-great-grandfather, who had been the last ruling king of Russia, before the empire had fallen, and Kai because of his father's ancestral Japanese roots.

Everything had been going well, until a political scandal had taken place sixteen years ago. Kai's father had, at one time or another, been involved in the Russian politics, and was caught up in the scandal; the media exposing and ruining him.

His family disinherited him, and broke off connection with him to try and save face. The Hiwatari Corp.'s full ownership was turned over to his former partner. The only valuable possessions he had left were his wife and son, but the humiliation and depression drove him to drinking and soon he began to take his frustration out on his family. The successful young man he used to be slowly started to disappear and become replaced by an abusive monster that spent his nights in bars, mornings and afternoons in bed, and evenings taking his anger out on his wife and one-year-old son.

Kai's mother endured four long years with Kai's father for her son. She wanted to run away and take Kai with him, but Kai's father threatened her that if she took his 'son' he'd come after them and kill them both.

So, late one night, after Kai's father had fallen asleep on the wooden kitchen table after consuming more vodka than he usually did, and giving his wife a particularly ruthless beating, Kai's mother crept up to his room. She lay beside him in bed, her arms and face covered in bruises, the new ones already darkening in color, and dark blood still trickling down the side of her forehead from a gash in her head, and wrapped her arms around him as she combed her fingers through his dual-colored hair—hair that was so like his father's.

She whispered to him how much she loved him—how she'd always love him, even if they weren't together, and softly sang his special lullaby to him. And he, looking up at her through sleepy, five-year-old eyes, told her he loved her too. At this she started to cry softly, and hugged him closer, murmuring his name over and over. The only way he could even barely remember her sweet voice was to imagine her saying his name that night. Soft and sweet. Like she'd always been. He fell asleep like that, snuggled against her side, his tiny little fists clenched around the soft material of her sweater.

When he woke up in the morning, she was gone.

And so, his life continued, but now, without his mother there to protect him, he was his father's personal punching bag. He had lived like that for a few years, until, one day, when he was nine; he'd snuck out at night when his father was out. The only things he took were a picture of his mother, a cracked silver ring with the Hiwatari emblem—a Phoenix—carved into it, that his father had given to his mother before their wedding, and some money that he found in the kitchen in a small jar on top of the rusted fridge.

After spending a few days out in the cold, he had been taken into an orphanage, but he was constantly being shifted from orphanage to foster home to orphanage again. During this time he had somehow gotten enrolled in school, and, because of his good learning skills, had completed high-school.

He worked a part-time job at a supermarket, as the cashier. His life wasn't luxurious, but he was content. He shared a small apartment with a couple of his acquaintances from school—he was naturally quiet and people often mistook his quiet behavior for arrogance and steered clear of him. But he was comfortable with his roommates, heck he'd even go so far as giving them the sacred title of 'friends'.

Bryan and Ray were the closest thing to family that he'd ever had, and even though he wouldn't show it often, he still valued the relation he shared with them. They'd even stood by him when he'd come out of the closet and Bryan had growled at and fought with anyone who dared to make fun of his little brother.

Right now he was headed to the supermarket, since it was a Sunday, and he worked the afternoon shift on Sundays.

He stepped into the warmth of the store, nodding to a couple of 'regular' customers who smiled at him, and making his way over to the grey door that opened into the employee storeroom. Once inside, he shrugged out of his black jacket, revealing a simple black turtleneck sweater that fitted closely over his toned—though not overly-built—chest. Hanging the jacket on a hook on the wall at the back, he pulled on the white jacket with the supermarket's green logo on the back. He took off his gloves and rubbed his hands together to get the feeling back in them and then tossed off his blue ski-cap and grimaced at the green logo-ed baseball cap in his hand before setting it atop his head.

No, the proverb didn't fit into his life at all. It was like his life had been so full of dark clouds that the silver lining had seemed to disappear. Sure, it showed up faintly now and again, but it wasn't permanent. He still felt like he was missing something.

Finally ready for work he set his features into the semblance of a smile before stepping back into the main store area. He took up his position at the counter and nodded in greeting at the short, motherly woman who was the manager of the store, returning her crinkly-eyed smile with a slight one of his own.

He yawned slightly as he leaned back in his seat, surveying the customers with a bored expression. He studied their faces and groceries in turn.

"Excuse me, sir."

The squeaky voice snapped him out of his people-watching and he looked around to see a small bunch of blonde curls poking over the side of the counter. He leaned across the stainless steel surface to look down into large, hazel eyes, and asked, "May I help you?" remembering to keep his voice adequately polite and interested.

The little girl fidgeted with the hem of her knitted, pink skirt that poked out from under the over-size purple jacket that she was wearing, as she looked alternately at him and the candy stand beside the counter. "How much are those?" She finally asked, pointing a magenta-wool-clad hand at a box of chocolates wrapped in silver foil.

He told her the price, adding a small smile at the end when he remembered his manager's advice of _'Don't forget to _**smile**._' _

"Would you like to buy them?" He asked, looking down at her with what he hoped was a kind expression.

"Nope."

He blinked, slightly taken aback, but then recovered and asked, "So you don't want anything?"

The girl, now fully assured that he wasn't going to hurt her, grinned a smile that had three teeth missing and instead of answering his question, pointed at the jar of lollipops, "How much are those?"

"Are you going to buy one?"

"How much?" She insisted, stubbornly.

Kai sighed and told her the price. "So do you want one?"

"No."

He sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Listen, do you even want something?"

"Nope," she answered brightly, popping her lips at the end to make a sharp _'puh' _sound.

He raised an eyebrow at her before rolling his eyes and going back to sit at his counter. He kept his eyes down this time, hoping no one would bother coming to his counter again.

"Hey you!"

So much for hope.

He looked up to see a bald guy—obviously drunk—leaning his over him with his palms on the counter. "Where d'you keep the booze in this hole?" He hiccupped.

"I'm sorry, _sir_," Kai replied, injecting as much insolence into his tone on the 'sir' as he could while keeping his voice considerably polite. "We don't sell alcohol here."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" The drunkard cried, dropping the black ski-cap that he held in one hand on the counter, and leaning over the counter and, pulling Kai up by the collar, brought him face-to-face with himself. Kai gagged on the scent of stale, cheap vodka on the man's breath as he struggled to break out of the man's grip.

He heard the manager calling for security as the man began to shake him, making his teeth rattle and almost making him bite his tongue off in the process. Just as he thought he'd lose consciousness because off the force of the jerks, the shaking abruptly stopped, and the man's fingers slackened as he let go off Kai and slid to the ground in a dead faint, a large purple lump beginning to swell on the back of his bald head.

Kai tried to control his breath as he looked up to see who had hit the man. His eyes met sparkling ice-blue, their owner's expression managing to somehow look somewhere between concerned, smug, and…hungry as the tall, pale-skinned male looked down at him. He offered Kai a hand clad in a white, leather driving glove.

Kai accepted the offered hand, ignoring the slight tingle that went through his hand as the strong hand of the other enclosed around it, and pulled himself up.

The older teen placed the aluminum can of blueberries that he had in his hand—one side of it completely smashed—on the counter as he ran a hand through his bright red hair. Kai finally managed to look away from the mesmerizing blue eyes, and looked around to see the crowd that was beginning to gather.

He coughed slightly, embarrassed to be the centre of attention and headed through the crowd to the back storeroom, not noticing that the redhead had followed him. Stepping into the room, he leaned against the wall and sighed deeply with his eyes closed, still not noticing the other figure in the room. The older male cleared his throat, making Kai snap his eyes open as his body tensed. He looked at the other male and then sighed in relief.

"Oh, it's just you."

"Well, that's gratitude for you." The redhead smirked, standing in front of him and folding his arms across the chest of the fur-trimmed, white jacket that he wore.

Somehow the smirk suited him really well, making his eyes glint mischievously and the devil-horn hair-do looked even more appropriate, and Kai could feel his cheeks heating up just by looking at him.

"Thank you." Kai replied, a bit sarcastically, but with a touch of genuine gratitude.

His savior's smirk widened into a more wolfish version, "No problem, I save girls all the time."

Kai bristled indignantly, "I. Am. _Not. _A girl."

"Well, you certainly PMS like one, Kai."

"I—" Kai opened his mouth to retort, when a thought struck him and he gaped at the taller male, "How come you know my name?"

"I'm not psychic, if that's what you're thinking. But I _can_ read," The redhead replied, looking pointedly at the nametag on Kai's uniform. "You aren't as smart as you looked after all."

Kai glared at him, "Well sor-_ry_, _you're _not the one who had a psycho drunkard trying to choke you to death a couple of minutes ago."

"No, I'm the one who saved the damsel-in-distress," The redhead's smirk—if possible—widened.

"Asshole."

"Why, thank you, that's the nicest thing anyone's ever called me."

"Aargh!" Kai cried, "Couldn't some _normal_ extremely-hot-guy have saved me?" Immediately realizing his mistake, he clapped his hand to his mouth, and stared horrified at the redhead, trying to think whether he should wait to see how the older male would react or make a run for it and try to preserve some of his dignity. Just as he decided on the latter option, he felt himself being shoved back against the cold wall, and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the hateful words or blows that were sure to come.

He almost spluttered in surprise when a pair of cold, yet lusciously soft, lips pressed against his own. His eyes snapped open and he looked into the ice-blue depths of the other's eyes as the taller male pulled back to gauge the younger's reaction.

"…Asshole?" Kai almost whispered, a small smirk playing across his lips.

At this the redhead smirked himself and—bracing one hand against the wall beside Kai's head and wrapping the other around his petite waist—leaned in again to kiss the dual-haired boy, their lips crashing against each others' in a more passionate kiss as the older male bit down lightly on the younger's bottom lip, making him open his mouth with a soft moan. The redhead quickly took the dominant role as he began to explore the inside of the other's mouth with his tongue, delving into every crevice, and eliciting tiny mewls of pleasure from the young enigma. Kai wrapped his arms around the older teen's neck, entangling one hand in the soft red hair at the back of the other's head, and pulling him closer.

Finally, they had to part for breath and rested their foreheads together, panting softly as they looked into each other's eyes.

"So…Does this mean we're going out?" The redhead asked.

"Y'know, I still don't know your name," Kai said pointedly.

"One step at a time," The redhead laughed and winked at him, and Kai—to his own surprise—found himself laughing lightly along with the redhead.

'_Every cloud has a silver lining.'_

But for Kai, it was red.

**~*~*~*~**

**Give it up for uke!Kai, people. =3 *Crowd of fangirls cheers***

**I know, I know, I haven't updated in over two weeks. I'm **_**really**_** sorry, but my college teachers have no mercy where assignments are concerned. -**_**Sobs**_**-**

**I started writing this the day after I uploaded Shadow of the Day, and wrote like 200 words, then 400, and then the rest of the thing right now. When I started writing, I had a completely different ending and plotline in mind, but I somehow ended up with this. ^^; But I'm still pretty happy with how it turned out.**

**Sorry about the swearing. I'm not into hardcore swearing, I almost don't swear at all, so this was hard to write from that prospect. x3;**

**And, w00t, my first Tala/Kai! ^^ Miguel/Kai's forever, but these two look pretty cute together too, don't you think?**

**And, no, I don't know what the Russian currency is. –**_**Looks ashamed**_**-. That's why I avoided Kai saying it. x3**

**Again, one of the reasons that I delayed completing this was that I was thinking about making it a multi-chaptered or two-shot thing. But then I decided to leave it as a one-shot. ^^**

**Anyway, hope you liked it, and if you did, you know the drill don't you? ^^**

**The 'Review' button is right down there.**

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